1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to toilet operation techniques, and more particularly to a system and method for automatically varying the volume of a liquid held by a toilet receptacle.
2. Related Art
Many different types of residential and non-residential toilets are commercially available and employed in the industry. A residential toilet typically comprises a tank and a toilet bowl. When a user initiates a flush of the toilet bowl via a flushing mechanism (e.g., a handle or a button), water within the tank is released through a flush valve into the toilet bowl, and the liquid and any waste present in the bowl are flushed out of the toilet bowl via a gravity siphon arrangement.
A common configuration of residential toilets employs a float and a ballcock valve arrangement within the toilet's liquid tank. In such an arrangement, the ballcock valve is activated by the float, which is connected to the ballcock valve via an armature. When the water within the tank is permitted to flow through the flush valve to the toilet bowl, the water level in the tank decreases rapidly causing the float that is connected to the armature to fall. When the float falls, the ballcock valve opens, and permits water to flow through the ballcock valve, and the tank refills for a subsequent flush.
In residential toilets, the volume of water held within the tank between flushes is relatively constant. Typically, approximately two (2) gallons of water is rapidly expelled from the water tank into the toilet bowl, which activates the gravity siphon arrangement thereby emptying waste and water from the toilet bowl into the sewage system. Simultaneously, the ballcock valve opens and refills the tank until the tank contains approximately two (2) gallons of water. Implementation of this mechanical process to effectuate each flush results in approximately the same amount of water residing within the tank after each flush.
In non-residential toilets, the same amount of water also flows into the toilet bowl per flush. A common configuration of non-residential toilets employs a valve and a flushing mechanism that actuates the valve during a flush. In such an arrangement, the valve is situated between a toilet bowl and an inlet conduit, which provides a water flow when the valve opens.
Moreover, the volume of water held in residential and non-residential toilets between flushes remains substantially constant throughout the life of the toilet. Chemicals (e.g., lime, calcium, etc.) within the water often accumulate at the water's surface and eventually on an inner surface of the toilet bowl forming a ring of chemical deposit on the bowl's surface. This ring is typically formed at a location on the bowl around the periphery of the surface of the water being held in the bowl. Such a ring is unsightly, and frequent cleanings of the toilet bowl are often required to prevent and/or remove a significant formation of the ring.